An Experiment With Death
by CrashLanded
Summary: This fic is an experiment before I begin writing some longer fics. So here it is Naruto dies, leaving his friends to reminisce, touching their lives even in death
1. Memories

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Disclaimer: Hic! even all this sake can't dull the pain of not owing Naruto.  
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"Uzumaki Naruto. A jinchuuriki. A demon. A shinobi of Konohagakure. . A person who changed my life. A person who understood me. My brother. Brother of Sabaku no Gaara." Gaara looked at the sunset. It was sad. Why were sunsets so sad? "You saved me. You saved my village. You saved your own village. You were a hero. But why did you go away? We needed you. She needed you."  
Kankurou stood beside him.  
"Gaara, how long will you hold on to it. You are the Kazekage. Your village needs you," Kankurou still remained calm, or at least tried to.  
"Don't you feel what I feel?"  
"I do, but then we have to move on. Life does not stop for one man. It must flow on," Kankurou tried to reason.  
Gaara turned and walked away, with the sun on his back. Kankuro followed.  
"Kankurou, tell her I'm sorry."  
"I will."

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Sasuke closed his eyes. He had just heard of the news. All alone in the darkness of his room, he had time to think.  
"Fine, the dobe is out of the way. Finally."  
Still a part of him wanted to cry. Cry, at the death of his brother, his friend. Someone who was dear to him. What was he thinking?  
"Naruto, why? Why do I feel this…pain? You were nothing but a hindrance. An obstacle in my way. That day, I'd have killed you. But why?"

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As birds chirped the morning jingle, Tsunade woke up clutching her head. The hangover was worse than last morning's, but there was something that ached more than her head. She was still in the office, with the window open. The door opened and Shizune entered the room.  
"Tsunade sama. Please stop drinking so much. It hurts us to see you in so much pain," Shizune's voice was full of concern.  
Tsunade got up from the chair and went to the window, looking up at the Hokage monument.  
"He had said…..one day…..I can't believe he is gone."  
"Tsunade sama, please."  
She had dreamt, that one day, she would die seeing the face of a man with whisker-marks on his cheeks on that mountain. Now she knew the day would never come. Her vision blurred. She closed her eyes to prevent the flood from coming out. No, she had to be strong.  
"Shizune, get today's papers."

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All was dark, except for a small crack from where light was coming into the cave. Sakura saw someone standing there. She did not recognize who it was, so she ran forward, kunai in hand. Then she caught sight of the orange and black jumpsuit. Yes, it was Naruto. "Naruto!" She coud not believe it.He turned to face her. "Sakura-chan?"  
Then the earth started shaking. Rocks started falling from the roof of the cave.  
"Sakura-chan look out!!" Naruto's yelling had the effect.  
Sakura saw a big boulder coming right at her. She was frozen on the spot. She couldn't move. Then she felt a hand on her back and a push. Naruto had pushed her away. She hit the wall on the left. The boulder came down with a big force, sending small rocks flying in the air. Then it was quiet. "Naruto?" Realization dawned on her. It was too late. Suddenly she heard a creaking noise above her. She had only time enough to look up to see a big piece of rock coming at her before everything went black…….and her eyes flew open. She was looking at whitewashed walls and a creaky fan. It was a dream. She was at the hospital.  
"Woke up? About time."  
She turned to see Ino by her side. She saw a weak smile on her old rival's face.  
"N…Naruto?"  
The smile vanished from Ino's face. She turned her face, not knowing what to say.  
Sakura didn't need the words. She let her head fall back to the pillow, her right hand gripping the bed sheet tightly. There was silence. It was painful. She had experienced it once before, when Sasuke was going.  
"If only I was strong enough….."  
Ino held her hand, trying to console her. She understood Sakura more than any one. She knew what he had meant to her. Sakura was still staring at the ceiling.  
"I will get Sasuke back for you, I promise."  
Her voice was firm, and yet, Ino felt that Sakura was trying to hide behind words. She knew her friend was crying.

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Thud…thud….thud….thud….Hands furiously kept hitting the practice log. Hinata's hands were bloodied but she would not stop. The pain was nothing to the one she had inside her. She was weak. She could not stop it from happening. It had happened before her, and yet she was powerless. Powerless to save her dear Naruto-kun. Powerless to fight. But this would not happen again. She will be weak no more. She will train and fight. Fight to protect the one thing that is precious to her……his memories. Hyuuga Hiashi looked at her from behind the tree. He had seen something change about his daughter. Her voice was now firm and calm. She was so sure of herself now. She was now a true Hyuuga.  
"Only through pain one becomes strong. I know it is painful, but you must endure. We all fight our way through pain. He is gone now, never to return, but in turn he gave something to you. I see him in you. I think that is for the best."  
He left unnoticed. Hinata kept hitting the log, knowing fully well that her father had come and gone.

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The Hokage monument is a majestic sight. After all, it is a tribute to the greatest leaders the village had since it was founded. Kakashi stood at the edge, overlooking the village. The wind caressed his hair. "You feel the same, don't you?", his voice addressed the white haired man behind him.  
He didn't turn back to face Jiraiya.  
"I feel I failed him. I could never be good sensei to him." Kakashi felt guilty for never being there for his student.  
"Don't feel that way Kakashi. What has happened has happened. We can't turn back time. But then see the bright side, your words were with him - those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash."  
"He died because of it."  
"He was brave."  
Kakashi turned.  
"Yes, I guess so."  
Naruto's wish had come true. He had been acknowledged. His name was there, among the martyrs of Konoha. On that memorial which stood on the Team 7 training ground. Hatake Kakashi now came even more late to appointments.

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	2. Prelude To A Dream

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Disclaimer: Why don't I own Naruto? _Cries himself to sleep_  
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Naruto got down on one knee, still managing to keep his balance. Itachi still stood where he was. For the last five minutes, Naruto had tried to go through Itachi's defence but failed miserably. Itachi still watched impassively, his red gaze directly at Naruto.  
"It's futile, Naruto-kun. It is better to give up than face pain," Itachi's voice was ice cold.  
"Like I'm listening to you," yelled Naruto.  
"Fine by me then, if you wish to resist," Itachi smirked, his three tomoe Sharingans spinning, "Tsukoyomi!!"  
The next second Naruto's world turned red. The sky was red and so was the ground. It was all hazy at first, and as his eyes focused, he found himself tied to a cross. Itachi stood smirking before him. He noticed a katana in Itachi's right hand. He knew what exactly the man before him had planned. "You can never get me, Itachi," Naruto tried to keep up his façade. Itachi only smirked.  
"For the next 72 hours I'm going to torture you," he said holding up his katana,"by stabbing through the heart."  
"Huh? You believe you can break me like that? I know that it is a lie. This whole world is a lie……AAAAAGGGHHHHH," Naruto could not complete his words. Itachi had impaled him with the katana. He gave a slight twist to the blade while it was still inside and pulled it out.  
"71 hours 59 minutes and 59 seconds to go," Itachi's smirk had disappeared into his usual stony face.  
In the real world those 72 hours lasted only a few seconds. Naruto's legs collapsed underneath him as Itachi held him up by the waist and put him on his shoulder. No sound came from Hinata's lips. It was too much of a shock. She was on her knees, staring blankly as Itachi turned away. She was powerless. Sakura lay beside her, bloodied and unconscious. Kisame was too strong, even for the super strength Sakura had. But it was not supposed to happen. It was a C-class mission, not an S-class. Hinata had to sign up with Team Kakashi after he had to go on a solo mission. It was a dream come true for her, to be close to her Naruto-kun, and it had turned into a nightmare. To face two S-class criminals was too much for two chunnin and a genin, especially when they were totally unprepared. These two were in a different league altogether compared to Deidara and Sasori. Not that Hinata had any experience of facing the Akatsuki.

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Tsunade's brow creased when she heard the news that her surrogate brother had been kidnapped by the Akatsuki.  
"Get Kakashi," Tsunade said, keeping her frustration down.  
The ANBU disappeared, leaving the Hokage with her sake bottle. She downed the bottle in a second and was about to grab the second that she felt a familiar chakra near her.  
"I'm not going to say anything, do anything you can, anything at all….just…Naruto…save him Jiraiya.", she was practically to tears when she downed the second bottle. Jiraiya just nodded and was gone. She wiped her tears and tried to focus and then it struck her. She rang the bell on her table. Shizune came running in.  
"Shizune, get this message to Sunagakure. As fast as possible….."

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Gaara looked down from the highest point of the ridge. It was a straight drop of 500 meters. No one could survive a fall from that high, unless of course you had wings. Itachi sure did not have any wings, but neither did Naruto. But still Gaara knew that the S-class missing nin had escaped. The chase was still on. And having Kakashi and Pakkun to help was a big plus. Add Kiba, Shino and Hinata, and they were the perfect trackers. Itachi could not escape them, but the problem was if he decided to fight back. The back-up was yet to arrive.

The message had reached Gaara two days back. He had started out himself, without Kankurou or Temari as soon as he read it. The teams had met on the borders of Wind country and Kakashi had taken up from there. They had made progress but they were losing time, and time was all they needed. Tsunade had mentioned about a backup team coming to reinforce them but they had not arrived. With every minute passing, the chances of getting Naruto back was were fading.

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	3. The Final Moment

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, but then at least I can write a FF, can't I?  
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"So this is how it ends. But I won't go with a whimper. It would be just like that bastard Deidara said, with a bang."  
Naruto knew it was the end. He was not going to survive this. He was not going to keep his promise. But that didn't matter; Itachi would die. He would win it for Sasuke. And Sasuke will have to go back. And Sakura-chan will be happy. He would not go back on his word; that was his nindo. Still doubts persisted, will Sasuke really go back? He did not know, and at this moment, he really didn't have the time. He stood before a giant statue with nine eyes, all closed.

"Oh so you think you can get away, squirt?" Kisame's words boomed in the cave.  
Naruto sidestepped the swipe from Kisame's Samehada and ran forward beyond him. Then he stopped. They were all there, surrounding him. The Akatsuki. It was now or never.  
"You bastards, do you really think I would allow you to get you hands on that furball? You will never get him, you hear me? Never!"

And then Naruto's hands moved through five rapid hand-seals. All of his opponent frowned and the leader's eyes widened. There was a smirk on Naruto's face as the words echoed through the cave.

"Kinjutsu: …………….!!"

"Shit!" was the only word that formed in the leader's mind as a spike in chakra choked the words in his throat.

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"What was that?", Neji asked.  
"Naruto…..", Gaara's cold voice replied, even though there was emotion hidden inside.  
"North-east, 25 degrees, maybe 6 or 7 miles from here", Pakkun's voice was heard, not wavering a bit.  
They took off.

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Dark clouds crowded up in the sky, as if mourning for the dead. Charred bodies lay here and there, bearing witness to the massacre that happened at this place. Gai's foot got caught in something and he almost stumbled. Looking down he found a hilt of a sword sticking out of the rocks. Looking closer, he saw a mist hitai-ate crossed out in the middle, by the sword.  
"Kisame……."

The roof of the cave had given way and rocks had fallen on the cave floor, making walking difficult.  
"Naruto was here. His smell is strong", Pakkun's voice pierced through the silence.  
Gaara turned and said, "He's not here. I can't sense his chakra anywhere."  
They didn't know what to do. They were sure however, that Naruto had done all this. Only he was capable of something like this. Gaara looked up at the skies. It would soon rain; and he didn't like it at all. Sand and water are enemies, and Gaara sure wasn't happy with the way this had turned out. He had hoped that Naruto will survive, but looking at the carnage, his hopes had faded. Even Naruto was human.

"Let's go. I don't want to be drenched in the rain. I'm calling for reinforcements", Gaara's voice commanded.  
"Hai Kazakage-sama"

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The next day they found it. It was only a hitai-ate; a leaf hitai-ate. Pakkun smelled it and nodded. It was his all right. It was beyond hope; Naruto was gone, but not without taking the most dangerous organization with him. They found the bodies in the rubble, but could not find a few of them. Itachi was missing, and so was the leader. Tobi was missing too, but then probably he was vaporized away, for they only found his mask. The teams returned contented but still sad. Technically mission was a failure, for they could not rescue Naruto. But then probably, it was for the best. He had died a hero, and he would get his place with the others, and if anyone tries to think otherwise, well they be damned. Not even the council can force them the other way.

The End

This fic is actually a study on what I'm going to work on next. There are two projects lined up, and I am still sitting on a Bleach story that need reediting.

The Timeless Man

"Am I alive? No, I died a long time ago. When? I don't remember. I wonder how much time has passed, and to think I was sleeping. In fact it still feels that I'm asleep. It's all a dream, a fleeting moment, a bird that is free and yet can't fly away. I have been living too long."

Naruto, at the age of 20, fights the Akatsuki at its strongest and manages to seal all the bijuu away in himself using a jutsu he created. But the still untested jutsu  
backfires. Watch our blond friend live as a cursed immortal, trying to die and be at peace. Naruto with a touch of Cowboy Bebop. Angst but still humourous. Self mutilation freaks and suicidal ones please keep away, this does not appeal to you.

Devils And Angels

This is one big crossover Naruto x Yu Yu Hakusho x DBZ, and yes, major AU. From DBZ only Goku is there and his power has been toned down to Super Saiya-jin only. No SSJ 2 or more. From Yu Yu Hakusho, I'm taking Hiei and Kurama. Naruto remains he same except for that the Kyuubi is extracted out of him. This may be just because I'm just too lazy to make OCs (thinking up Japanese names is hard too, I don't know Japanese), but the characters will be tweaked up if necessary. But no OOC Naruto.


End file.
